Rise of the Seraphs (REWORK)
by ID Zeta
Summary: The Seraphs: Mysterious beings only known through their crystals and weapons integrating some of their technology. They, like the Eridians, are long gone... or so the Universe thinks. A discovery by the Vault Hunters sets off a chain of events that leads to am ominous prophecy: The Seraphs will rise again. (This is a rework of my previous story. May change to Rated M later.)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Borderlands franchise, nor anything related to it.

* * *

Chapter 1

_Some went so far as to call it a true civil war. As far as the Eridian Royal Council was concerned, it was nothing more than an act of defiance, the work of an egotist done through the hands of his supporters._

_None could deny, however, the absolute chaos that engulfed Pandora and Elpis on that day._

_At was almost as if a bubble of spacecraft surrounded the planet and its' moon, enclosing the carnage that raged below them. Huge flagships traded laser blasts while swarms of smaller fighters engaged in dogfights. Explosions lit up like fireworks, a dazzling display of utter destruction._

_There was a clear sign of dominance, however. Huge, dark-purple carriers easily outnumbered the slightly smaller pink-ish flagships. One side was certainly winning this battle. Unless a miracle happened soon for the losing faction, defeat was imminent._

_It was on Pandora's surface, however, that the decisive battle was being waged. Along an icy mountain pass, the two factions were locked in a stalemate. While the Eridian Guardians engaged the enemy's machines, soldiers exchanged laser fire from covered positions. On the plateau near the summit, two titans struggled to dominate the other. One resembled a gargantuan dragon, with six legs, a pair of odd wings, a hide of stone, and a cone-like tail. The other was a true abomination, a blob of tentacles and spikes with a single, glaring eye._

_From this eye, the abomination fired an intense beam of purple energy at the dragon. The dragon screeched in pain and retaliated with a torrent of fire. The abomination was gradually being pushed towards into huge Vault glyph. A portal spanned the interior of the giant arch, and purple energy ebbed and flowed across its' stony surface. Most of the abomination was already inside the portal, but its' tentacles held it firmly in place. They were gradually being severed by Eridian soldiers one-by-one._

_Eventually, the last tentacle was cleaved, and with a horrid shriek, the abomination was sucked into the portal. The portal quickly closed to prevent it from escaping, and the energy flowing along the Vault glyph ceased. It collapsed, its various segments landing with hard _thuds_ in various places on the plateau. The soldiers cried a cheer of triumph, and their huge dragon's roar carried for miles. The enemy forces were wiped out, at least in this area._

_A dropship, decorated with the Eridian Royal Insignia, swiftly descended upon the plateau. It hovered just above the ground, and with a flash of light, a slender Eridian materialized. The Royal Family's traditional colors, deep blue and silver, adorned in her ceremonial armor. Her flowing blue cape snapped in the cold wind. She approached the group of celebrating soldiers, and a heavily-armored Eridian, presumably the Commander, walked quickly to meet her._

_"Your Highness!" the Commander called out before bowing briefly before her. "I wasn't expecting your arrival."_

_"Excellent work, Commander," she greeted. She gazed upon the celebrating soldiers, who were too endulged with their own business to notice her arrival. "How many casualties?"_

_"Too many, My Queen," the Commander reported, shaking his head. "The Seraphs put up a bigger fight than we expected, given their limited resources. We weren't prepared for their fortifications." He straightened up. "But, Phase 1 worked. The Destroyer is sealed within the Vault. It won't be getting out any time soon."_

_The Eridian Queen nodded in acknowledgement. Her brilliant blue eyes traveled over to the huge dragon, which was currently staring at the flagships in the sky. "Seal the Warrior, like the rest of the weapons," she said as she turned. "Then we can begin Phase 2." The Commander bowed again as another flash of light engulfed the Queen. The dropship rose, then rocketed off into the sky. The Commander turned on his heel and gave orders to his soldiers._

_It would be a long trek to Mount Hellsfont._

* * *

The Hyperion Corporation, it seemed, had turned over a new leaf. Who would've guessed that would happen after the death of its infamous dictator of a CEO?

With Handsome Jack dead and his Warrior destroyed, the burden of running the Hyperion Corporation fell, naturally, onto Blake's shoulders. He had foreseen, but had not anticipated, that outcome, but he was prepared for it. He, like most of Hyperion's higher-ups, saw no purpose in focusing so intently on Pandora. Though the trade of Eridium had been outrageously profitable for the company, Handsome Jack's obsession with abusing the element had turned many of them away from it.

Blake introduced a flurry of changes within the Corporation soon after his promotion. The only Hyperion force that remained on Pandora was for maintenance and defensive purposes only. After all, Pandora was still a bandit-ridden wasteland of a planet, and those unfortunate enough to have to live there must be protected. The only remotely suspicious thing he had done was installing an array of satellites in the planet's upper atmosphere. Blake claimed they were strictly for security purposes, but the Vault Hunters were skeptical.

The Vault Hunters themselves faced a problem: With no more Vaults within easy reach, what was their next target? Of the planets highlighted by the Vault Key's internal map, only a few were within a reasonable distance for possible looting. Of course, the group didn't have a ship capable of interstellar travel, and even if they did, they hadn't firmly decided on a destination. It was a problem they kept in the back of their minds as they went about their day-to-day business.

Blake, in an effort to establish a good standing with the Crimson Raiders, frequently offered jobs for the Vault Hunters to do for him. They were rarely anything extraordinary. Usually, they involved clearing out a potentially problematic bandit camp or retrieving stolen Hyperion equipment. The Vault Hunters, though dubious, didn't complain; Blake paid handsomely, both in hard cash and in quality gear.

It was during one such seemingly-routine mission, however, that shattered the sense of normality that had fallen over Pandora. Chaos would return to the savage planet, but, then again, isn't chaos what Pandora is (in)famous for?

* * *

[I have a small but urgent task for you,] Blake began his pre-recorded message, as he usually did. On the receiving end of his message, a Commando, a blue-haired Siren, and the Mechromancer listened intently to his slow drawl. [One of the satellites I sent into orbit around Pandora months ago has malfunctioned and, as such, crash-landed on a small island off the coast of the Highlands. I doubt the satellite will be salvageable, but I want you investigate the crash site. Retrieve the satellite's data bank and return it to me as soon as possible. The approximate coordinates of the crash site are included with this message.]

"A fallen satellite, huh?" Gaige remarked, switching off the ECHO receiver in the Crimson Raider Headquarters. "Should be fun." She hopped out of her chair and strode towards the door.

"Only you would find something like this 'fun'," Axton quipped. Gaige gave him a knowing smirk. "I bet you just wanna see what you can salvage from it."

Gaige chuckled. "You know me too well, Ax," she grinned. "I also wanna see what exactly that satellite's been recording. Blake never told us why he sent those things into orbit in the first place."

"Judging from what he's willing to pay us," Maya said, "that data's valuable." Indeed, Blake offered to pay each of them a lofty sum for such a simple job. "If he's up to no good with those satellites, we need to know."

"Wouldn't be surprised if he was," Axton said, stretching his arms. "So, do we wanna wait for the others to get back, or head out now?" The other three Vault Hunters were busy dealing with the latest activity of a rising bandit leader.

"I imagine they'll be tied up for a while," Maya said, her hands on her hips. "The Prankster's an elusive guy, and if I know those three as well as I think I do, they won't be back until he's dead." She wasn't far from the truth when she said that.

"Besides," Gaige commented, "the debris field will probably be huge, even if the satellite remained intact during re-entry. It'll likely take us a while to find that data bank." The Mechromancer received a pair of looks from her companions.

"She'll probably explode if we don't go right this instant," Axton said, rolling his eyes. Gaige punched him in the arm playfully. "Let's get going, then." The trio quickly packed their supplies, grabbed their guns, and teleported to the Highlands via the Fast Travel station.

* * *

The island that the satellite had crashed on was only a few miles long, so finding the crash site wasn't too difficult, especially because of the plume of smoke rising from it. The satellite had remarkably remained mostly intact, though it was severely damaged. Some of the trademark Hyperion yellow paint was still visible underneath the extensive scorch marks.

It took almost half an hour of poking, prodding, and a bit of brute force to retrieve the data bank. The black metal box was still hot to the touch, but Gaige was confident that its' contents could be read. All she needed was the proper hardware to read it, which, if she didn't already have it, could be built within a few days.

Axton had watched Gaige as she made her way to the data bank, but Maya had wandered off. Something felt... _odd_... about this island. Mental tugs pulled her towards some unseen destination. She had felt something similar when the group stormed through Hero's Pass to confront Handsome Jack and face the wrath of his Warrior. She felt a similar, but much more faint, feeling from the Vault Key. Here, she heard whispers, like faint music in the wind, within her mind. She was certain that an Eridian relic was somewhere on this island.

The mental tugging and the whispers eventually led her to the middle of the island. The tall grass that covered most of the small island stopped growing in a large circle. Sand covered the barren ground in a thick layer. The whispers on Maya's mind told her that whatever she was seeking was underground, but there was no sign of anything on the surface.

"Maya?" Axton called out once the data bank had been retrieved. The Siren, however, didn't hear him; the whispers had drowned his voice out. It wasn't until he physically shook her that the voices vanished. "Hey, we've got the data bank," he said, looking intently at her. "Let's get out of here before it gets dark."

"No, not yet," Maya said, her voice barely above a whisper. She shook the Commando's grip off, and she slowly walked to the center of the sand circle.

"What?" Axton asked, taking a tentative step forward. "Why not? There's noth-"

"_Something _is here," the Siren interrupted him. Her eyes blazed with intent. "An Eridian artifact, or something similar. I can feel it. Whatever it is, it's underground." She dropped to her hands and knees and began to dig in the sand.

"You're serious, aren't you?" Axton asked, more to himself than to Maya. Whenever she got that look of determination, he knew better than to challenge her.

After thoroughly examining the debris of the satellite, Gaige went to see where Maya, and now Axton, had gone off to. When she saw the pair digging in the sand, she couldn't help but laugh, "_What _are you two doing?"

Axton shot her a glare. "Shut up and dig," he said blandly. The two stared at each other for several moments before Gaige finally shrugged. She summoned her robot companion, Deathtrap, and the pair began to dig in the sand as well.

* * *

Author's Note: For those of you who have read my previous story with a very similar title, this story is, basically, a re-write. I wanted to start over, to integrate some different ideas into the story. Many of the key points in the later chapters of my previous story will remain, but the introductory material and plot points will be changed.

I want to craft a better story this time around. I hope you enjoy. Feel free to comment on or critique what you see; both help me improve my writing, which means it'll be more enjoyable for you, the readers.

Until next chapter-

-ID Zeta


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the Borderlands franchise, nor anything related to it.

* * *

Chapter 2

_The Seraph base was a hive of activity. Soldiers moved to and fro, some carrying weapons and ammunition, others carrying crates and other items. Docked in the center of the base was a massive starship, a technological marvel, the pinnacle of Seraph research and development. Some of the soldiers were loading equipment into this ship. Judging from the fervid pace of the activity, it was as if the Seraphs were preparing for an evacuation._

_They were._

_From the starship's command bridge, a golden-armored Seraph general observed the preparations in contemplative silence. He watched as his men, such diligent supporters of his cause, scurried around the base. He was eternally grateful for their support; without them, he would be just another madman, spouting nonsense upon deaf ears._

_It was a shame that most of them would die in less than an hour._

_He heard the doors to the bridge hiss open behind him. He heard the urgent clack of boots against the metallic floor approaching him. He did not turn._

_"Hyperius, sir," the owner of the boots said. "Most of the equipment is loaded and secured. We're still waiting for the last few fighters to get back from their recon route." He paused, waiting for a response. When an immediate one was not given, he asked, "What are your next orders..?"_

_Hyperius sighed and shifted his gaze to his own boots. The recon team had been gone for far too long; they were likely shot down or captured. An unfortunate loss, but a loss that would have been inevitable. "Give them another thirty minutes," he said quietly. "If they have not returned by then, we leave without them." He raised his head back up. "The sooner we get this ship off the ground, the less likely the Queen and her Guard will catch us." He heard the soldier behind him bow, turn on his heel, and leave. Thirty minutes would be pushing his agenda, but it was the most he was willing to spare._

_An alarm sounded on the console in front of him. He tapped a button, and an audio feed opened. The sound of laser fire and explosions filtered through immediately. "Hyperius, sir!" an urgent voice reported. "The first line of defense has engaged the Queen's forces. They're hitting us with everything they've got!"_

_"As expected," Hyperius said calmly. "Hold them off as long as possible. Fall back to the second line when necessary." With that, he tapped the button again, and the feed closed. The Seraph's brow furrowed; the Queen's Guard had arrived sooner than he had planned. This wasn't a good sign._

_He wanted more time, but time was not on his side, not today. The bomb had already been activated, and his is memory served him any good, the timer had at least 45 minutes left on it._

_45 minutes. After that time, all this chaos would come to an abrupt end. In 45 minutes, a war would be won, a "rebellious" ideal would triumph over an iron-fisted, tyrannical regime._

_In 45 minutes, an entire race would be exterminated. They would feel no pain._

* * *

The trio's digging eventually yielded unexpected results. A massive raised Vault symbol, spanning nearly the entire circle of sand, had been uncovered. The symbol's stark white color, slightly worn down from time and the elements, stood in contrast to the sand around it.

"Was this what you were expecting to find?" Axton asked, his sand-covered hands on his hips. Whether he was underwhelmed or simply annoyed was hard to tell.

"No..." Maya answered blankly. Her mind was elsewhere, trying to feel where those mental tugs were coming from. Sure, they came from below her, but there was no visible means of getting there. There had to be a way; she simply had to figure out what that way was. Her face was scrunched up in a look of concentration. "No, this isn't it... It's further below, but _how_..."

"We've been digging here for over an _hour_," Gaige whined. She flopped down on the raised symbol. "If there was a way to get underground, we would've found it by now." She laid back with a sigh, her head hanging over the edge of the symbol.

Undeterred, Maya stepped up onto the outer ring of the Vault symbol. She scanned the huge white structure, as if searching for an answer to her question. There where few puzzles the Siren couldn't solve. She spent a lot of time on Athenas working on logic puzzles; they distracted her from the general misery of her time there.

_Maybe_, Maya eventually thought,_ what I'm looking for isn't on the symbol itself... but the negative space inside it._ With that thought in mind, the Siren turned her attention to the interior of the massive arch. While the trio had spent over an hour digging up the Vault symbol, they had only revealed the outline of the structure. Much of the sand covering the inside space was relatively untouched. "Yeah, that might be it..." she thought aloud.

Moving all the sand that remained would easily take another hour's worth of labor, but the Siren had another idea in mind. She stretched her left arm out, concentrating on the mass of sand. She visualized gathering it into a Phaselock sphere and moving it. Sure enough, a bubble materialized close to the surface. The sand swirled around it and was sucked inside of it. More and more sand got swept into the vortex, until nearly all of it was collected into a neat bubble of energy.

Axton gawked at her display, a mixture of amazement and sudden irritation fixed on his face. "Why couldn't you have done that a bit earlier?" the Commando asked, with more than a hint of his irritation in his voice.

With a flick of her wrist, Maya sent the bubble of energy and sand sailing to her left. She released it shortly after, causing the sand to pour out in a large plume. Much of it went over Axton's head, but a fair amount washed over him, covering him in sand. "Because I like seeing you suffer, Axton," the Siren answered, a smirk on her face. Gaige giggled at the display, but the Commando was not amused.

With the sand gone, Maya turned her attention back to the problem at hand. The revealed surface mirrored that of the raised Vault symbol: stark white and smooth. Centered under the arch was a grid, etched into the ground, four squares by four squares. Interesting, the Siren thought. She approached it and knelt down to examine it. She slid her hand over the square in the bottom left corner, feeling its smoothness. It depressed under her touch.

"Pressure plates?" Gaige guessed. Interested by the discovery, she had sat down to get a closer look herself. She pressed down on the square above Maya's, and it depressed as well. "Why would there be pressure plates? That seems... too primitive for the Eridians, don't you think?"

"It's a puzzle," Maya said, making the connection. "An added security measure to keep unwanted people out." She stood up and glanced at the entire grid, rubbing her chin slowly. "My guess is either all of these plates have to be pushed down at the same time, or there's a pattern they have to be pressed in."

"Pushing them all down seems like an easy place to start," Gaige chirped. Once Axton had cleaned most of the sand off his uniform, he helped the two go about pressing the plates down. It took a while to figure out just how to make it work, but once a method was found, they held the plates down for a few seconds. At first, nothing happened.

Then, the plates sunk a bit deeper into the ground, and the lines flashed with purple light. Lines appeared on the raised Vault symbol as well, and light-purple waves flowed across the smooth white surface. The entire slab of stone under the arch abruptly sunk slightly and began to slide. The trio scurried off the slab to witness what was about to happen.

The slab slid up under the arch, gradually revealing a tunnel underground. Pearly-white stairs led down into the dark abyss, spiraling to the right slightly. The slab clicked into place once it stopped moving.

"Guess that's our way down," Axton shrugged.

"If we're gonna go down there, we'd better get moving," Gaige said. "You know how Lilith gets when we stay out too long."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Axton groaned, shaking his head. He put a hand on Maya's shoulder. "Well, ladies first, eh?"

The Siren scoffed, "If that's the case,_ you_ should be first."

"Hey, this was _your_ idea!" the Commando countered.

"Alright, alright," Maya chuckled, throwing her hands up in mock defeat. With that, she turned back towards the stairs and took a careful step down, with her companions in tow. Slowly, step by step, the trio descended into the darkness below.

* * *

A/N: Well, well, well... A mysterious staircase leading into the abyss. What discoveries await our trio in the darkness? You'll find out soon enough. In case you haven't caught on yet, the italicized first portion of these chapters are flashbacks to the past. You've seen the imprisonment of the Destroyer; here, you see the beginning of the aftermath. These flashbacks will end in a chapter or two, but pay attention to them. They'll come into play later.  
Feedback, as always, is encouraged and greatly appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own the Borderlands franchise or anything related to it.

* * *

Chapter 3

_It was evident that the Seraphs were prepared to make their last stand along that valley pass. Heavy fortifications lined the walls of the ravine, and the sheer look of determination in their eyes made one thing clear: these soldiers were willing to give their lives to protect their leader. Such dedication is rare indeed._

_They were, however, vastly outnumbered. What the Queen's Guard lacked in firepower, they compensated for in strategy and raw force. Focused offensive movements gradually pushed the Seraph defensive line further and further towards the base. With each foot taken, the Seraphs became even more determined to hold their ground._

_The Queen, overseeing the operation from her flagship, found their loyalty impressive, almost admirable._

_Far below the surface, 30 minutes ticked off on the bomb's timer._

_The Seraph's anti-air defenses made quick work of any fighters trying to provide air support, but one-by-one, a fighter would slip past and destroy them. Eventually, an order was given, and the Seraphs retreated around a bend in the valley. The Queen's Guard followed on their heels, but their progress ground to a halt when they encountered a massive energy shield. Twin generators scaled the valley walls on both sides. The shield absorbed their laser shots with ease, effectively rendering most of their weapons useless._

_"Your Highness, what do we do?" the Queen's battle strategist asked her on the flagship's bridge. Her brilliant blue eyes stood transfixed on the flickering pink wall of energy separating her forces from their objective._

_Her grip tightened on the golden staff she held in her right hand, a family heirloom and symbol of authority. "I will take care of it," the Queen answered, a hint of annoyance in her smooth voice. Before her strategist could protest, she blinked out of existence in a flash of scarlet light. She materialized on top of her flagship in a similar flash._

_She pointed her staff at one of the generators and closed her eyes. Tendrils of purple energy flowed down her arm onto the staff, then traveled to the large purple crystal fixed on the headpiece. It glowed brightly, humming with energy, and small bolts of purple electricity arced from it._

_The Queen opened her eyes, now glowing the same bright purple color, and fired a bolt of energy from her staff. It left a sparkling trail behind it as it traveled towards its target. The bolt pierced through the generator's tough exterior and exploded inside of it. The energy ripped the generator apart from the inside out. With its destruction, the energy field flickered and vanished. Both the Queen's Guard and the Seraphs opened fire once again, and the battle resumed as if it had never stopped._

_15 minutes ticked off on the clock._

* * *

"Geez, how far down does this thing go?" Gaige whined, not for the first time. The light of day had long since left the trio; the darkness was pierced by a pair of flashlights and the soft blue glow of Maya's tattoos.

"Just a little farther down," the Siren assured her, also not for the first time. Her voice seemed somwhat distant; her mind was seeking out the voices that lured her there in the first place. They had grown silent since the path was revealed.

"You've said that the past four times she's asked," Axton grunted. His grizzly voice echoed around the rather tight staircase, as all their voices and footsteps did. Maya struggled to drown them out.

"Seriously," Gaige groaned, "we've been walking down these stairs for what, five, ten minutes?" She sluggishly continued down, her boots making a particularly annoying amount of racket.

"Could you two _please_ keep it down?" Maya hissed sharply. "I'm trying to-" Her sentence, as did her movements, cut off abruptly. The twin flashlight beams revealed the cause; a flat surface sprawled under Maya's foot.

"_Finally!_" Gaige sighed in relief. "The bottom!" She jumped ahead of Maya, and a quick sweep of her flashlight confirmed her claim. The trio stood at the entrance of a chamber. "I wonder if there's any way to make this place brighter." Gaige's voice reverberated through the massive space. She went off into the darkness, guided only by her flashlight.

Axton started off towards the Mechromancer, and Maya followed suit. She had only taken a few steps, however, when a harsh pink light flicked on in front of her. The Siren shielded her eyes from the intense light, which seemed to be looking her over. In fact, it was looking _inside_ her, at her DNA, though she had no idea. After a few seconds of scanning, the light vanished as abruptly as it appeared.

Moments later, lines of light slowly appeared on the edges of the chamber. Gradually, the illuminated the entire chamber, and the trio got their first glimpse at how truly massive it was. It spanned nearly the same area as the streets of Sanctuary, with tables and consoles arranged in a grid and a circular pedestal in the center. The pearly white walls at first harmed the trio's eyesight. A large, black crest was revealed on the back wall.

"_Ho-ly crap_," Maya breathed in awe. She ran her hand along one of the flawless table tops. It was impossibly smooth, akin to silk. "If the Eridians built this, it's _amazing_."

"No kidding," Axton said. His eyes were turned up to the vaulted ceiling. It seemed to stretch needlessly high before the corners came together for form a dome shape. "What do you think this place _is_, exactly?"

"I have no idea," Maya replied absent-mindedly. She noticed tools on some of the tables. They seemed scattered haphazardly, as if whoever was working here had to leave in a hurry. She examined one, which resembled a scalpel. "If I were to guess, though, I'd say this is a lab of some kind."

Gaige had wandered onto the center pedestal while silently admiring the stark beauty of the chamber. Four rails partially enclosed it, which left gaps to come and go off of it. She ran her hand along one of the rails, and unconsciously pressed a small bump when she felt it. A holographic screen, outlined with pink light and filled with strange characters, flickered on shortly after. It was an alien language to the Mechromancer; she had no hopes of deciphering it.

"Hey, check this out," Gaige called out to her companions. Axton and Maya hopped onto the pedestal and examined the screen before them, their heads cocked in interest and confusion. "Any idea what it might mean?"

"Pretty sure none of us can read Eridian, Gaige," Axton said flatly, scratching the back of his head. "Unless you know someone we don't."

"Actually, _I_ do," Maya said. Gaige and Axton traded looks of confusion. "Tannis."

The Commando and the Mechromancer glared at Maya like she had two heads.

"Seriously?" Gaige asked skeptically. "Is there anything that woman _can't_ do?"

"Have a reasonable social interaction, for one," Axton offered. He received a smack on the head from Maya. "What? You know I'm right!"

"_Anyway_," Maya rolled her eyes, "if we can get her down here to look at this, maybe she could translate it. There's _gotta_ be something down here besides scattered tools, and I'm pretty sure we'll need her to find it."

"Alright, alright," Axton conceded, "but _you're_ gonna do the convincing on your own."

Maya glared at the Commando. "And you can't help me because..?"

Axton shrugged, a small, smug smirk on his face. "I just wanna see if it's even possible to get her to leave her little office."

* * *

A/N: I tried to inject a bit more humor into this chapter, mainly to keep the narrative at least somewhat interesting. Tell me what you think. The little flashback narrations in the beginning will end in at least 2 chapters, in case you were wondering.  
As always, feedback is much appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own the Borderlands franchise, nor anything related to it.

* * *

Chapter 4

_"H-hyperius, sir!" a panicked voice called out over the communication feed. "The Queen's Guard just broke through the final defense barrier. They're pushing towards the base!"_

_The Seraph general's brow furrowed, his eyes closed once again, his arms folded closely in front of him. He silently switched off the feed. "That's our cue," he told himself quietly. By now, everything that needed loaded onto the starship was on board, and most of the personnel had gotten aboard as well. All that remained was one task, small, but nonetheless important._

_Hyperius tapped a few buttons on his console, which switched on the starship's intercom system. "If I could have one last moment of your attention," he began, his firm voice resounding through the ship. "I want to voice my eternal gratitude for each and every one of you. Without your dedication and loyalty, I – _WE – _would not be where we stand today. However, what we are about to do, the actions we are about to take, will force a tremendous burden upon all of our shoulders. It may even haunt you for the rest of your lives. As such, I am offering you one last chance. If you feel as though the burden may be too much to bare, if you have _any _second thoughts or hesitation, you may walk away. Your hands, your _conscience_, will be clean. There is no shame in walking away. If any of you wish to leave this ship, now is your only chance."_

_Silence followed his speech. He watched a video feed from outside his ship out of the corner of his eye. The hatch was sealed closed in preparation for take-off._

_It did not open. A relief, for the moment._

Very well, then_, Hyperius thought. He gave a string of orders to his crew. The Eridium generators flared to life in the engine section of the starship, diagnostics were checked once again, and the huge roof the base creaked open ever-so-slowly. The starship's engines roared, and the huge mass of metal floated off the ground. The array of landing gear retracted, and the ship climbed higher and higher, passing the opening in the roof and the surrounding rocky outcrops. Then, it began the ascent into the atmosphere._

_The Seraph's escape did not go unnoticed. One of the technicians in the Queen's flagship spotted the vessel in the distance and reported it. The Queen scowled, her tattoos flaring orange with rage. "They're escaping!" she hissed. She whirled around to her tactician. "Divert all air support to chase that ship down! NOW!"_

_The Seraphs had been within the Queen's grasp time and time again, yet they always managed to slip between her fingers. She had devoted far too much time, too many resources, too many soldiers, on what quickly became a wild skag chase. She was determined to catch them – or rather, _him – _this time._

_The Queen's attack ships veered away from the firefight in the ravine and went after their new target. If the pilots knew the distance between them was too great or that the target was climbing impossibly fast, they did not say. Orders were orders, and to disobey was to die._

_They knew that lesson well._

* * *

If anyone could be considered an expert on the Eridian race, Tannis would hold that title. The enigmatic aliens had fascinated her to no end, and she desperately wanted to understand them. She searched for every scrap of information even remotely related to the Eridians and carefully compiled it in her office underneath Crimson Raider HQ.

Tannis knew more about the Eridians than anyone. She had deciphered their language (mostly), which greatly helped in decrypting the few codexes she had found. Despite her knowledge, much of their culture remained a mystery. For example, just how powerful were the Eridians at their peak of power? How many planets had they explored? What had they contained within their scores of Vaults scattered across the galaxy?

Perhaps most cryptic of all, what happened to them? What event could cause a race so extraordinary, so powerful, so god-like as the Eridians to just... _vanish_?

It was this exact question that Tannis was considering at the moment. "There are, of course, any number of possibilities regarding the extinction of the Eridians," she rambled into her ECHO device. She frequently recorded her thought processes, so as to refer to them later if necessary. "For example, meteorite impacts, uncontrollable epidemics, invasion from foreign powers, and civil war are all common extinction events found in other species. I quickly ruled out the meteorite impact, as I assume the Eridians possessed technology capable of destroying one, should one have ventured too close. Furthermore, there are no sizable impact craters to support that theory. I also ruled out the epidemic theory, for the same reasons I just mentioned. From the Eridian records I've translated, there are no references to any diseases at all."

Tannis paused momentarily to take a sip of water from her nearby glass. "As for the invasion theory," she continued, "that possibility seems rather illogical. If the Eridians were invaded by some other alien power, I doubt they would have had much trouble disposing of the threat. This leaves just one other possibility: civil war. From what I've translated, there is little evidence to support the theory. There are, however, a few hints at unrest. It seems that shortly before the records end, the Eridians were highly militarized, much more so than they had ever been. Some internal force must have caused this rapid and dramatic rise to arms. What that internal force was, however, I've yet to uncover."

She paused once again, this time to briefly sort her notes. "I suppose, for the meantime," she sighed, "that the all-important question will remain un-"

"Hey, Tannis!" a voice called out. Its owner, the blue-haired Siren, stood in the doorway leading to Tannis' office.

The doctor whirled around to find the source of the voice. "Maya," Tannis said, her voice containing a mixture of surprise and irritation. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of something important?"

"Well, yeah," the Siren answered. She knew, and found out the hard way, that Tannis hated being interrupted during her monologues. "I think you'll like what I have to say, though."

"If it isn't something regarding the Eridians," Tannis said flatly while turning off her ECHO device, "then I'm not interested at the moment." She gathered her notes together and started putting them back into her file cabinet.

"Oh, it's Eridian," Maya assured her, "and it's _huge_. We – Axton, Gaige, and I – need your help with it."

Tannis froze for a moment. She put the last of her notes into the cabinet and slid the tray back. She turned to face Maya, arms crossed, and looked the Siren in the eyes. "I'm listening," the doctor said.

"Well," Maya began, "while doing a job for Blake, we uncovered this huge Vault symbol embedded in the ground." She continued with her story, explaining every detail, particularly about the Eridian laboratory.

Tannis absorbed what she heard for a moment, then asked, "So what do you need _my_ help for?"

"It's kinda hard to explain," Maya admitted. "We searched the entire place, but I _know_ something else is down there. I can _feel_ it. Gaige pushed something, which turned a screen on. It was filled with Eridian letters, which we can't read, obviously, but _you_ can. That's why I want your help." She paused before adding, "You can spend as much time down there as you want, and you can take whatever you want back here when you're done."

Tannis considered the offer carefully. Something about it seemed... _off_, but she knew she couldn't pass the opportunity up. "To be quite frank," the doctor said, "what you've told me seems almost too good to be true. However, I won't lie and say I'm not interested. I'll help you, on one condition."

Maya frowned slightly. "And that is..?"

"I don't want you to interrupt me when I'm recording," Tannis said sternly, putting her hands on her hips. "This is the third time this month, and needless to say, I'm annoyed. I can't concentrate with your constant interruptions."

Maya stifled a laugh. "Alright, deal."

"Fantastic," Tannis said, clapping her hands together. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have equipment to gather." With that, she went about rummaging through her office for her tools.

"Whenever you're ready, just meet me at the Fast Travel Station," Maya said as she exited.

Axton and Gaige were waiting by the pair of vending machines around the corner. When Maya strolled out, Gaige said, "And the verdict is..?"

"She's in," Maya answered simply. "To be honest, that was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I expected more resistance from her." Previous attempts to convince Tannis to help with other problems had yielded... less than pleasant results.

A few minutes later, Tannis arrived at the Fast Travel Station, a large backpack on her shoulders. The trio had to stifle their laughter; they had never seen Tannis with something like that before, and the image was just _off_ for someone like her. After regaining their composure, the group used the Fast Travel Station to teleport o the Highlands.

* * *

A/N: I'm not in love with this chapter. I think I could've done a better job bringing out Tannis' general quirkiness, but... I think it'll do. As always, feedback is much appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own the Borderlands franchise, nor anything related to it. Credit for all characters and locations, aside from those I design, goes to Gearbox.

* * *

Chapter 5

_Hyperius had to laugh; the Queen had sent her entire attack squadron after his ship. He knew – and she probably knew, too – that he was impossible to catch, especially because his ship had reached its peak velocity. She was desparate, but he didn't think she was _that_ desparate. This act made her look almost stupid._

_Still, he needed more distance, _much_ more distance. He knew he wouldn't make it out of the blast zone in time, even at his ship's incredible speed. He mentally kicked himself for waiting so long on the surface. If he wanted to escape the blast zone unscathed, Hyperius would have to Phasewalk his entire ship halfway across the solar system._

_It wouldn't have been the most taxing thing he'd ever done. It was a gamble he'd have to take._

_The Seraph general focused, centering his concentration on one thought: himself. The tattoos that adorned his arms began to glow with scarlet light. The same red hue spread across his body. He then shifted his focus to his ship. The red light spread downwards, flowing over the floor and eveloping everything it touched. Soon, the entire ship became wrapped in a scarlet glow. Hyperius shifted his attention once again, this time to somewhere far out in the solar system. The exact location didn't matter at the moment; it just had to be outside the bomb's blast radius. He picked a general area and envisioned the ship being at that location. His eyes snapped open and, with a groan, he willed the ship to that exact spot._

_The scarlet bubble of light flashed. In an instant, the Seraph starship warped millions of miles away, leaving only a ghostly red afterimage of itself where it had once been._

_Hyperius exhaled sharply, his contorted face returning roughly to normal. His tattoos faded to their natural pale color. He stumbled slightly, and he gripped the side of his console for support. He clutched the left side of his chest, above his heart. Pain pulsed through his body with every heartbeat. His breathing was ragged and harsh, and his vision was slightly fuzzy. He had anticipated those symptoms, but not to the extent to which they currently ravaged him._

_His attendants rushed to his side to make sure he was alright. Hyperius assured them that he was fine, that he'd return to normal shortly. He was telling them half the truth; he _would _recover, but not quickly. Phasewalking something so massive over such a distance is extremely taxing on the body, and he knew he wouldn't fully recuperate for a few days at the minimum._

_Hyperius regained some of his composure and brought up a star chart on his console. Judging from the map, his ship had materialized roughly within the orbit of a gas giant which, thankfully, was on the opposite end of the solar system. It was also safely outside the bomb's range._

_"We're safe," Hyperius told himself quietly. His gamble had paid off. "We're safe," he repeated to his crew, which erupted in cheers of success. The celebration was short-lived; the Seraph general quickly rattled off a series of orders to his navigators, telling them to change the ship's orbital path to match that of the gas giant. He wanted everything on the ship double-checked to ensure nothing had broken or went missing. His crew went about their tasks as dutifully as ever._

_Hyperius sat himself down in his captain's chair with a sigh. The pain in his chest had diminished to a dull throb, but it was still noticeable. He brought up a camera feed of Pandora from a station on Elpis. He never grew tired of gazing upon the beautiful planet he called home. Never again, however, would its surface appear to serene, so calm. He felt a twinge of regret in his heart. The thought of going back and disarming the bomb crossed his mind, but only for a second. He quickly shoved aside any second thoughts. He had started down this dark path; he was determined to see it through. There was no turning back, not after he had gotten so far._

_He waited silently, watching the video feed. He anticipated what would come next with mixed emotions._

* * *

"Well, what do you think?" Maya asked Tannis as the group entered the massive chamber that was the Eridian laboratory. He voice echoed around the chamber, as if emphasizing its vastness and stark emptiness.

Tannis was speechless. Her mouth hung slightly agape as she absorbed the sight before her. She regained her composure shortly after and cleared her throat before speaking. "I-I'm _amazed_ by this," she breathed, her awe evident in her voice. She ran her hand along one of the smooth lab tables. "Everything is so well preserved... It seems simply surreal." She set her backpack down and rummaged through it. From it, she produced a well-used notebook. She flipped open to a fresh page and began to furiously scribble down notes while mumbling to herself.

"Uh, what is she doing?" Gaige dared to ask, her head cocked to one side. "Shouldn't she be hel-" A sharp gesture from Tannis cut her off.

"Her usual thing," Maya answered quietly. The Siren had been with the doctor during some of her outings. This is a normal occurrence; Tannis had to note absolutely _everything_ about a discovery she made, which included running some... _unusual _tests. "She'll got done eventually. If I were you, I wouldn't interrupt her."

The doctor moved around the chamber at a fervid pace, scribbling her notes at an equally astonishing rate. It would be a miracle if she could decipher her own handwriting later. "Fascinating," Tannis repeatedly said. "Absolutely fascinating..."

"How long do ya think that's gonna take?" Axton asked, crossing his arms impatiently. "We don't have all day."

"No way to tell," Maya shrugged. At the moment, Tannis was smelling the tops of the tables. Her nose almost touched their flawless surfaces. After each table had been thoroughly smelled, she'd snort before jotting down more notes. Such was the scientific method of Doctor Patricia Tannis.

Her work was only interrupted when she arrived at the large crest which dominated the back wall of the chamber. It was an upside-down kite shape, with lines cutting two outer sections off and leaving a wide arrowhead shape in the middle. Unlike the creamy white walls, this crest was black. Nothing else in the chamber shared the color. Tannis gazed at the crest, her brow furrowed in thought. "I've seen this design before," she thought aloud while tapping her chin with her pen.

"You have?" Maya asked. She, unlike Axton and Gaige, had followed the doctor silently as she went about her business, observing her work.

Tannis jumped slightly at the sound of another voice. She whirled around to see the Siren standing behind her. "Oh, you're still here," she commented, her voice carrying a mixture of surprise and disappointment. She cleared her thought before saying, "Yes, I said I have. I found it while decoding one of the Eridian manuscripts we found a few months ago. I've yet to finish decoding the entire thing, mind you, but from what I've translated, it seems as though this crest is associated with whatever caused the Eridians to go extinct. That's what I've deduced, anyway." While she spoke, she drew a rough sketch of the crest in her notebook, along with a comment or two.

Tannis paused abruptly, and her face contorted with intense thought. "Oh, what was that name again?" she groaned. It sounded much like a plea.

"The name of what?" Maya quizzed.

"What it Sai-? Seph-? Sem-?" the doctor said, ignoring the Siren's question completely. Eventually, she sighed in defeat. "A better question would be why I can't seem to remember the name at the moment," she huffed, regaining her composure and turning to face Maya. "Alright, I've done my preliminary assessment. Show me where you need my help."

Maya gestured to the center platform. "It's over here," she said as the pair approached it. As they stepped onto the platform, Axton elbowed Gaige, who had almost nodded off into sleep. She came to with a slight yelp. When she noticed Maya and Tannis had arrived, she searched for the switch on the rail and pushed it when she felt it.

The holographic screens flickered to life just as they had before. Tannis gawked at the sight and began to take notes at a furious pace. After finishing, she examined to block of characters that filled the screen before her. She frowned slightly.

"What's the problem?" Gaige asked while yawning. They day's travelling, along with other personal habits, left her tired. "I thought you could read Eridian."

"I can," Tannis grunted, her annoyance evident but repressed. "I simply had not expected this much to translate." Her eyes skimmed over the characters, her brow furrowed in concentration. After a minute or two of reading, she touched one of the holographic boxes at the bottom of the screen. A faint tone sounded, and a new screen of characters appeared.

"What did that previous screen say?" Maya quizzed. Tannis' speed at reading Eridian impressed her.

"It was a welcome message," Tannis shrugged, her concentration focused on the new characters. "I read the first line or two, then skipped the rest."

Maya blinked. "Why would you-"

"Shush!" Tannis snapped as she almost smacked Maya with a gesture. The doctor read, then re-read some of the lines before her. Her hand hovered over one of the boxes underneath the text, and after making doubly sure her translation was correct, she touched it.

Like before, another block of text replaced the previous one. This block, however, had smaller characters. Tannis' reading rate rose to an almost panicked pace, as if something within the text scared her eyes. "What..?" she breathed. "Why would..?"

"'Why would' what?" Maya asked, her concern evident. Tannis offered no answer; instead, she touched the box at the bottom of the screen, and after a few moments, the screen vanished.

"What'd you do?" Axton grunted, clearly impatient. Again, Tannis said nothing. Axton groaned and reached out to grab the doctor's shoulder, but before he reached her, his hand froze.

A sharp _clack_ and a jerk of the platform startled the group of four. The center of the platform retracted into the outer section, revealing a hole. The group scurried off the platform before the entire thing, save the rails, opened up into an abyss. Then, a new platform rose out of the newly-formed pit.

On the platform was a pedestal, and on the pedestal was something that resembled a massive sea urchin. It was a sphere, easily two feet in diameter, with dozens of spines jutting out at all angles. It was a deep, shiny purple, and the spines were a sinister black. The platform clicked into place, and the holographic screen reappeared on one of the rails. A small block of text adorned it, accompanied by a box.

"What the _hell_ is that?" Axton dared to ask. Lines on the spiky sphere pulsed pink, much like a heartbeat.

"_That_," Tannis finally said, her tone surprisingly even, "is a bomb."

* * *

A/N: Another chapter, another mixed reaction. I apologize if these last few chapters have been particularly boring; I guess I'm trying to hurry to the main events. Things will be getting more interesting soon enough, I promise. As always, feedback is much appreciated.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own the Borderlands franchise, nor anything related to it.

* * *

Chapter 6

_Soon after Hyperius began his warpath against the Eridians, he came to realize an important – and tragic – fact. In order to truly defeat the old regime, all remnants of it must be destroyed. That included everyone who lived during the old regime's reign. Hyperius' plan called for outright genocide, but he believed so strongly in his ideals that genocide was something he could bear._

_The weapon he designed to fulfill that task had a beautifully simple concept: Eradicate Eridians, leave everything else intact. He first considered a bio-weapon, but multiple failures at creating a supervirus made his dismiss the idea. What the Seraph general eventually thought up was an ambitious piece of weaponry, even for Eridian standards. It would become one of his masterpieces of destruction._

_The weapon he designed was, fundamentally, a heavily-modified pulse emitter and receiver. Upon activation, it would release powerful pulses of energy that could travel over huge distances. The extraordinary thing about it was that the weapon could be calibrated to target specific things, ranging from organic life in general to a specific species. It took many years and a few lives to develop, but it had not been tested in full-scale._

_It became, essentially, a glorified bomb. Because it didn't annihilate itself upon detonation, it could be reused, which was one of its many perks. It fired a continuous series of pulses after being activated. The first pulse identified where the targets specified in the calibration are; the next, much stronger pulses completely destroyed those targets. The only catch with it was that it took a _massive_ amount of energy to detonate. For this reason, a Seraph crystal fuel cell was developed, which could supply that energy when needed for a while._

_Hyperius hid the weapon in one of his old laboratories far underground. It was far away from his main base of operations, so no one would suspect a thing. There were some quirks with the weapon, but Hyperius was confident enough to play it as his trump card, his final gamble._

_His eyes were glued to the video feed before him. His mental countdown had reached ten seconds. He subconsciously gripped the armrests of his chair tighter and tighter. _This has to work,_ he thought. _If it fails, all of this will be for nothing.

_Five seconds._

_Four._

_Three._

_Two._

_One._

_Zero._

_At first, nothing happened. Then, a faint bubble of light flashed out from the edge of Pandora, then collapsed back in. About a second later, another flash, brighter and slower, washed over the planet. From Hyperius' perspective, it was appallingly silent, like the ghost of Death itself. He could almost hear the terrified screams of his brethren on Pandora. Most of them were innocent civilians, bystanders who didn't concern themselves with the affairs of warring factions._

_A single tear rolled down the Seraph general's cheek. "It is done," he said, his voice hollow._

_The bridge of the Seraph starship feel eerily silent. There was no cheering, no celebration. Hyperius' crew had undoubtedly watched the same scene unfold before their eyes. They knew the plan. They knew what they signed up for. They, too, sat in silence. Some of their mouths hung slightly agape, but all of their eyes were transfixed on whatever screens were in front of them._

_"My brethren," Hyperius spoke over the intercom. He did his best to fill in the void of emotion he felt. "The deed... has been done. All of our hard work has finally yielded a reward. Our great struggle is over at last. The tyranny of the Eridian Monarchy is over. The age of the Seraphs... has begun._

_"Now, we must begin the process of rebuilding what has been lost." The Seraph general's voice became slightly more passionate, empowering. "We must repopulate. That is why I equipped this vessel with incubation chambers. We will give rise to the next generation. We will teach it, shape it, and empower it to carry out our mission, as all of you have done so far. When the time is right, we will return to our home and rebuild our great civilization... as it should be."_

_Hyperius heaved a sigh and slumped back into the captain's chair. It took more effort that he thought to sound motivational considering the emotions he felt. His brow was furrowed slightly. His life's work, his dream, had finally been realized._

_So why did he feel so... empty?_

* * *

"_That_," Tannis finally said, her tone surprisingly even, "is a bomb."

All three of the Vault Hunter's heads snapped to face the doctor. "_What?!_" they shouted in chorus, bewilderment plastered on their faces.

"Why the _hell_ did you bring out a freaking _bomb_?!" Gaige hollered, waving her hands. "What if it's still armed?!"

"I-I-" Tannis stuttered. She paused, regained some of her composure, and started again. "My curiosity got the better of me," she said as evenly as she could. "I wanted to see what it was. You all know how fascinated I am with Eridian technology."

"That doesn't solve the second problem," Axton grunted, his face contorted in frustration. "What _if_ this thing is armed? What if it decides to go off?"

Tannis approached the spiky bomb and examined the screen off to the side. "Judging from this," she said after a moment, "there is nothing to worry about."

"What makes you say that?" Gaige asked apprehensively.

"This screen is asking for several inputs," Tannis explained, her attention still on the screen. "It appears this device must be calibrated and set to detonate with a timer. Even then..." she trailed off as she read more of the characters. "Even then, it would still not work. It seems the power supply is drained."

Maya cocked her head in confusion. "Then why is it pulsating?" she asked.

Tannis shrugged. "There is _some_ power remaining, but not enough to trigger a detonation." The doctor crossed her arms. "I wonder..."

"Why do I hate it when she says that?" Axton groaned quietly as he rubbed his bridge of his nose.

Tannis eyed the screen for a moment, then the bomb. She mumbled something to herself, but the Vault Hunters didn't hear it. The doctor tapped one of the boxes on the screen, and the pulsing abruptly stopped. Then, panels on the front of the bomb slid outwards, revealing a shining pink crystal suspended by a series of rods. The crystal was shaped like a polyhedron, and it was about the size of a basketball. All four sets of eyes looking upon it widened.

"Is that the power core?" Gaige breathed. "It's... _beautiful_." The shining light died down gradually.

"It is," Tannis affirmed. She was equally enthralled with the crystal. "I've never seen anything quite like it." She reached towards it, but an oppressive heat made her quickly withdraw. "It's _very_ hot."

"I can tell," Maya mused, noticing the distortion of her view from the rising hot air. She could feel the energy radiating off it the crystal, and not just the heat. She could feel much, much more. She shuttered slightly. "Even drained, it's still highly energized."

The remark finally drew Tannis' attention away from the crystal. "How can you tell?" she blinked.

"I-I don't know," Maya said, a look of confusion settling on her face. The energy from this crystal felt very similar to that of the Vault Key, except impossibly greater. The Siren was somewhat surprised that the crystal hadn't shattered under the emense amount of energy it contained. "I can feel the energy coming off of it. It's... it's _huge_."

"How much energy are we talking here?" Axton dared to ask.

Maya shrugged. "My best guess... Enough to wipe an entire city off the map. And then some."

If the others weren't in awe yet, they certainly were now. "You're kidding..." Gaige said.

"No, I'm not," Maya said, shaking her head. "And that's the scary part." The Siren approached the spiky sphere and eyed the crystal within it more closely. "If this thing has that much power when it's _drained..._" She didn't need to finish her sentence; her point was made.

"...So what're we gonna do about it?" Axton asked after an eerie moment of silence. "We obviously can't leave this thing here. Who knows who could find it after us."

"I don't think we can take this bomb with us, either," Tannis said. "It appears the bomb is anchored to the pedestal." She gave it a slight push, and the spiky sphere remained put.

"Then we remove the core," Axton said slightly impatiently. "If it can't work without the core, then we take it."

"Yeah? And put it _where_, exactly?" Gaige countered. "If that core's even remotely as energized as Maya says it is, it'll melt though any container we put it in."

While the Commando and the Mechromancer argued, Maya's attention was focused on the crystal. The mental tugs she had felt before were now strong pulls. It was as if they were talking to her, telling her things about the crystal. They told her it was dangerous, far too dangerous to keep around.

They told her it had to be destroyed. Maya listened to them.

As if in a trance, Maya's arm slowly rose out in front of her. She cupped her hand and her Siren tattoos shined, though they shimmered a more purple hue than normal. Her eyes glowed the same unusual color. The familiar Phaselock bubble of energy formed in her hand, as well as around the crystal itself. She drew her hand towards herself, and in doing so, she pulled at the crystal. With a sharp _snap_, the crystal freed itself from the rods around it. She pulled the crystal closer, until it was almost arm's length away from her face. Even from that distance, she could feel the heat radiating off of it. It felt... gentle, like the warm flames of a fireplace. She held it there for a few moments, and the core dimmed as she did.

The snapping sound caught the attention of the others. They all exchanged uneasy glances at the sight before them. They all thought the same thing: _What is she doing?_

"Maya?" Axton tried to get the Siren's attention. Little did he know that her ears were filled with shouts, all demanding the destruction of the crystalline power core.

"Maya," Axton said as he stepped forward, this time more firmly. He received no response.

With a growl, the Commando marched over and grabbed the Siren by the shoulder. "Maya!" he demanded, getting dangerously close to her face. The grab broke whatever spell had befallen Maya, and she yelped in surprise at how close Axton had gotten. The Phaselock bubble vanished, and the crystal clattered to the floor.

"Wha..." Maya seemed dazed, almost sleepy. "What happened..?" She looked at her hand in confusion, then at the faintly-glowing crystal. Her brow furrowed slightly. "Did I... move that?" she asked.

"Yeah, you did," Axton said evenly. "You don't remember doing that?"

"No..." Maya shook her head lazily. "No, not at all..." She gazed at the back of her hand, watching shades of blue and purple swirl around in her Siren tattoos. She felt exhausted, yet the entire left side of her body felt tingly and hot, particularly around her markings.

A look of concern settled on Axton's face, but he remained quiet.

"Well, there _is_ some good news," Tannis chirped, her tone slightly too cheerful for the moment. "The power core is not nearly as hot anymore." As if to prove her point, she clutched it with both hands. It still felt warm to the touch, like a stone left out in the Sun.

"Well, I guess that takes care of some problems," Gaige shrugged. She offered a hand out to Tannis. "I can take the core. From the looks of things, Maya shouldn't be down here much longer."

"Gaige's right," Axton agreed. "We should get her back to Sanctuary. She looks like she needs some rest."

"I'm fine, honestly," Maya protested, but she didn't object when Axton picked her up.

"This isn't a discussion, Maya," Axton said, a smirk on his face. Maya wanted to argue, but she felt too drained to offer any more protests. Tannis handed Gaige the crystal power core, and the Vault Hunters began the long ascent back to the surface.

* * *

A/N: Hey, look at that. Another chapter posted in a timely fashion. Motivation be praised.

I felt a need to post this chapter as soon as I could because I felt the questions I left at the end of the previous chapter needed answered. Thus, I provide some of the answers. The main plot starts to kick in next chapter, so stay tuned.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

In the outer fringes of the solar system, an ancient spacecraft drifted through the vast void. It resembled a massive arrowhead, and the distant light of the solar system's parent star faintly glinted off the purple-pink hull of the vessel. The interior was a massive hive of activity. Creatures moved to and fro, each with jobs to attend to.

This was the Seraph's starship. Within its protective walls, two generations of Eridians had grown and worked. A third was reaching adolescence, and they were the most eager to leave the ship in search of a home. They had listened to the words of their leader, Hyperius, who said the Seraphs would return home in all due time; the youths, however, were steadily growing impatient.

They would soon get their wish sooner than anyone thought.

Within his private chamber, Hyperius sat in a meditative pose atop a very throne-like cushion. Meditating served a dual purpose for him; it not only triggered his regenerative powers to nearly cancel out the effects of aging, but it also cleared his mind of the thoughts that frequently tormented him. The Seraph general like to meditate for a solid month every few months. He did not like to be disturbed.

On the far side of his chamber sat a console, which was directly connected to the main console in the starship's bridge. Whatever messages or warnings appeared on the main console also appeared on this private one. It rarely showed any messages.

A small red light started to blink on the console, accompanied by a soft beep.

Hyperius' brow furrowed at the sound. He tried to block it out, but the incessant noise threatened to break his meditation. His tattoos pulsed white, and Hyperius felt his mind flow through the floor and into the console through Phase Shift. He navigated his way through the maze of cybernetic pathways. Eventually, he found the warning message. His reaction to what it displayed broke his meditation. The Seraph general nearly ran over to the console to ensure he wasn't wrong. "How..." he mouthed, his eyes wide in disbelief. "More importantly... Who?"

The message said the following: "Error Detected: Unauthorized access to PW. CPC removed. Weapon disabled."

Hyperius quickly donned his golden armor and strode out to the ship's command bridge. Sure enough, he found the same message. His mind cycled through possible explanations. Had the weapon malfunctioned somehow? Was it not as powerful as his calculations indicated? Could something have survived? None of those answers made sense.

"You're awake rather early, sir," a gruff voice addressed the Seraph general. From the sound alone, Hyperius knew who it belonged to.

"An urgent matter interrupted my meditation, Voracidous," Hyperius said blandly, his attention focused on the screens before him. After several minutes of checking diagnostics and inputting commands, he said, "It appears we will be returning to Pandora much sooner than anticipated."

"For what reason?" Voracidous questioned, his brow furrowed.

Hyperius tapped a few keys, sending the commands out to various parts of the starship. "The impossible has happened," he answered.

* * *

Maya awoke with a tired groan. Her limbs felt heavy, and her head throbbed with an incessant pound. She went to grip her temple to ease the pain, but felt her arm blocked by a sheet. She realized she was in her cot within Crimson Raider HQ's living quarters, an addition that was built shortly after the events at the Vault.

"Rise and shine, princess," Axton greeted. He stood propped against the far wall. His look betrayed the sarcasm in his voice. He pushed himself away from the wall and walked over to the cot. "How do you feel?"

"I've been better," Maya grumbled. She rubbed her temple with the heel of her hand. "How long was I out?"

"Two days," Axton answered bluntly. "Headin' on three."

Maya gawked in disbelief. "You're serious?"

Axton nodded. "We were beginning to get worried. Seems like whatever happened in that underground chamber did a number to you." He knelt down closer to Maya's level. "Speaking of which, what did happen to you?"

Maya tried to recall the events, but found her memory strangely blank. "I... don't know," she said after a moment. "I remember looking at that crystal core, and then... you right in my face. Nothing in between."

Axton only nodded in response, though he was certainly thinking of something. "Well, knowing you're back is a relief," he finally said.

The remark didn't settle well with Maya. "What happened while I was out?" she asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Axton shrugged as he rose. "Gaige's working on extracting the data from that black box we took from the satellite. Tannis is still in that lab, doing God-knows-what. Other than that, not mu-"

"_Guys_!" Gaige cried from another room. "You're gonna want to see this! And you're not gonna like it!"

Axton rose, a slight scowl on his face. "Guess that means she got the data from that box, then," he grunted. "Let's see what's up." He trudged off towards where Gaige was. Maya followed shortly after.

Gaige was seated by one of the monitors in the Headquarters' Situation Room. The data box from the Hyperion satellite was hooked up to it by a jumble of cables. Currently on the screen was an aerial view of Sanctuary. The Vault Hunters, as well as Mordecai and Lilith, gradually filtered into the room.

"Glad to see you're back on your feet, kiddo," Lilith said to Maya, a tight yet warm smile on her face. She turned to Gaige and asked, "What'd you manage to dig up?"

"This," Gaige answered simply, gesturing to the monitor. "That's almost all of what's in the data files. Just hours upon hours of video of Sanctuary. There's some other data I haven't gotten to yet, but this is, like, 90 percent of it."

"So Hyperion's been watching us all along," Axton growled, his hands balled into tight fists. "That two-faced son of a bitch! I knew we couldn't trust him!"

"I'd be more surprised if he wasn't keeping an eye on us," Lilith shrugged. "Still, I thought we were on better terms with Hyperion." She sighed, her hands on her hips. "From what you said, Gaige, I figured this would be more important."

"I'm not done yet," the Mechromancer said with a grimace. "These videos can be analyzed across _all_ spectrums. Infrared, UV, X-ray, you name it. Plus, Hyperion could potentially tag each and every person living in Sanctuary and be able to track were they go." She let that information sink in for a moment. "_That's_ why I called you here."

"Okay, now _that's_ closer to what I was expecting," Lilith said worriedly. She rubbed her temple with a groan. "Can you figure out if Hyperion's tagged anyone?"

Gaige shrugged. "I'll see what I can do." With a crack of her knuckles, she turned her attention to the monitor and began typing away.

A period of silence followed before Maya finally spoke up. "Something doesn't make sense to me," she said. "Why would Hyperion want to track us? We're on fairly good terms with Blake, he has no need to spy on us."

"Maybe he just wants to be positive we aren't doin' anything fishy," Mordecai offered with a shrug.

"I don't think so," Maya continued. "It doesn't sound to me like Blake wants to keep track of someone. I think he's trying to _find_ someone. If he just wanted to watch over us, why would he need several dozen satellites to do it?"

Zero nodded, a hand on his chin. "She has a good point," the Assassin mused. "If that's the case, we must ask: Who is Blake after?"

Lilith thought for a moment, then frowned. "I might have an idea who it is," she grumbled. She turned to Mordecai. "Remember the prisoner we took a few weeks ago?"

The sniper scratched his goatee. "The Crimson Lance chick? What about her?"

"I got a bad feeling that whatever this is about involves her," Lilith explained. She started off towards the exit. "I wanna see if she knows anything."

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the delay and the shortness of this chapter. As my senior year of high school draws to a close, I'm finding less and less time to write. I'll to be my best to update as frequently as I can. As you can probably guess, I'll be introducing a few more familiar characters in the coming chapters. Things are getting interesting.

As always, feedback is much appreciated.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Digistruct Peak blossomed from a prototype training gauntlet to a full-fledged boot camp for Crimson Raider recruits. The digistruct technology usually worked according to plan, though unfortunate (and sometimes hilarious) glitches occurred from time to time. Any person wishing to join the Raiders had to pass a series of tests within the gauntlet to join the ranks.

The training ground also doubled as a makeshift prison. People thought to be threats to the Crimson Raiders – usually nosy Hyperion personnel or similar – were held until their fates were decided. It was here that Lilith and Mordecai materialized out of Phasewalk.

It was here that a particular person-of-interest was being kept.

Lilith motioned for the soldier guarding the person's cell to open it. He obliged after a sharp salute, opening the cell door for the Siren and the Sniper to enter and closing it once they did. Lilith then dismissed the soldier, as she preferred to keep the topic of discussion confidential.

The person in the cell heard the pair enter, but didn't react. Her red and black attire, a mix of casual clothing and military-grade armor, was reminiscent of the now-disbanded Crimson Lance. A black hood covered the dark hair on her head. She was laying on her cot, her purple eyes fixed on something on the ceiling, her arms behind her head.

"I suppose you're not here to let me out of this cell, is that right?" the woman spoke, her gaze still fixed upwards. The cold air condensed her breath into little clouds.

"If you tell me what I want to here, Athena, then it might be," Lilith said as she crossed her arms. "I've got a few more questions I need answered."

"Ask away, then," Athena said. She shifted slightly, perhaps to re-position herself, perhaps to mask a shiver.

Lilith shifted her weight before beginning, "Would there be any reason Hyperion might come after you, considering you worked for Jack?"

"Not that I can think of," the Gladiator answered after a short pause. "I made it clear to Jack that I wasn't under contract after his… episode. Maybe Hyperion wants me dead, I don't know."

"I think that rules her out," Mordecai mused. He took a swig from the bottle in his hand. "That leaves the one guy in your story, Jack's body double. He's the only one we haven't found yet."

"We picked up Aurelia a few weeks ago," Lilith explained when Athena's head cocked. "Anyway, that's why I'm here."

"You want to know where Timothy is," Athena filled in, her gaze finally meeting the Siren's. "Unfortunately, I have no idea where the kid is. Maybe he's still working for Hyperion. Maybe he's dead. I honestly don't know. The last I spoke to him was shortly before I left Jack's employment."

"Can you help us find him?" Mordecai offered. Lilith gave the Sniper a look, but he only shrugged. "Hey, she knows the guy better than any of us, Lilith. She might know where to start."

Lilith considered the proposition. She still had her reservations about Athena, but considering the situation, any leads to Timothy could he useful. "Fine," the Siren finally said with a sigh. "We'll need all the help we can get, I guess." She hid her reluctance well.

With that, the trio left the makeshift prison. Athena received all of the items confiscated from her upon her capture: Xiphos, her sword; Aspis, her shield; and a small assortment of other equipment, including her ECHO device. The trio started off towards the Fast Travel Station.

"So, Athena," Lilith questioned as the group walked. "Where would you suggest be start looking?"

Athena paused to think. "I can give Timothy a call on my ECHO," the Gladiator offered after a moment. "If he answers, at least we know he's still alive." Mordecai gave a gesture that meant "go for it", so Athena entered the Doppelganger's number. She raised the box-like device up to her ear.

She took a few unconscious steps away from the Siren and the Sniper as her ECHO tried to connect with its target device. For a few tense moments, nothing happened. Then…

[…Athena?] a voice said, his tone cautious, as if skeptical of something.

The Gladiator's eyebrows rose. "Tim," she said a bit too loudly, making no effort to hide her surprise. "It's… it's been a while."

[Couple years, right?] Timothy said, his tone relaxing. After a pause, he admitted, [I honestly never thought I'd hear from you again.]

"I thought I asked you to keep in touch," Athena said with a short pout. Indeed, she asked the body double to call her every now and then before she left Elpis.

[I've been… busy,] the Doppelganger sighed. His cryptic answer made the Gladiator's eyes narrow slightly. [Listen, Athena, I-I need to go soon, is something wrong?] It seemed as though Timothy didn't want to talk for too long.

Athena considered how to answer. "I need you for something," she finally said, trying not to reveal too much too soon. "Where are you?"

An awkward pause passed before Timothy answered. [I… can't answer that,] he said hesitantly.

The obvious questioned entered Athena's mind, but she pushed it aside momentarily. "Well, can you make it to Pandora?"

Another long pause. [I… I'll see what I can do,] he said at last. [I can't say when I'll get there, but I'll try to message you when I do.]

"Great, that's fine," Athena said, her tone strangely cheerful. She hesitated before adding, "It's nice talking to you again, Tim."

[Same here,] the body double mused. [Take care, Athena.] With that closing remark, the connection cut off.

Athena clipped her ECHO device back onto her belt, a small smile on her face. Her talk with Timothy left her with a short list of questions, but overall, she felt… happy, upbeat. Perhaps it was just the relief from knowing he was still alive.

The Gladiator returned to the expectant Siren and Sniper with her news. "It sounds like Timothy's still on Elpis somewhere. Regardless, he said he'll message me when – _if_ – he gets here."

"Well, that's… somewhat helpful, I guess," Lilith shrugged. "At least we know he's alive somewhere. Did he say where he was?"

"He wouldn't tell me," Athena shook her head. "I don't know why, though."

Mordecai scratched his goatee. "Sounds a bit fishy to me," he mumbled. Lilith nodded in agreement.

"I know, it does," Athena admitted. "I'll have to pick his brain when I see him next."

* * *

Helios Station loomed between Pandora and its moon, Elpis. Once a symbol of Hyperion's imposing control over the planet, the space station served as a reminder of atrocities of the company's former tyrannical president. Blake naturally wanted to steer the company in a more benevolent direction upon replacing Handsome Jack. He'd been fairly successful in the few months since becoming Hyperion's president.

Still, Blake had his concerns about the Vault Hunters and the Crimson Raiders. He wanted to gain their trust in the hopes of making peace with them. So far, he'd gone largely ignored, save for the jobs he offered every now and then. Hyperion was on better footing with the Raiders than when Jack had been in power, but Blake was still far from his goal.

He wanted to keep a watchful eye on Pandora, hence why he installed an array of satellites to monitor activity on the planet. Blake particularly wanted to keep tabs on the Crimson Raiders, though not for any malicious reasons. If they were planning on mounting an offensive on Hyperion, he wanted to know about it. He had even gone so far as to send an agent or two into Sanctuary to act as his ears, since the orbital satellites obviously couldn't get that kind of information for him.

It had been almost a week since Blake the Vault Hunters the mission to salvage the malfunctioned satellite, and they had yet to deliver the data bank from it. The positioning beacon within the black box showed it was in Sanctuary, but that raised the obvious question: Why hadn't it been returned yet? Blake had his suspicions, but he wasn't concerned. If the Vault Hunters found a way to access the data it contained, it would only reveal a truth which would have arisen at some point or another.

Blake sat in his office, formerly Jack's office, his fingers gently rapping against the desk. He was expecting an important call from a potential client soon. He had struck several deals with minor companies, offering monetary support or labor in exchange for funding. Since Hyperion changed hands, Blake nearly shut down the production of Eridium. This pleased major shareholders, as they wanted nothing to do with the alien element after Jack's obsession with it, but it naturally caused a sharp decline in revenue. The deal Blake was hoping to make with his new client might get the company some much-needed support.

The telephone rang. Blake snapped out of his momentary daydream and quickly picked up the receiver. "President Blake speaking," he said curtly, as he did whenever he answered calls.

[Blake, sir, it's Morrison,] the voice on the other end said. [I know you told us not to distract you, sir, since you were waiting for an important call, but… I think you'll be interested in what we've got.]

Blake groaned as he rubbed his temple. Morrison belonged to the team that monitored the satellite array, as well as other defense systems aboard Helios Station. "What did you pick up, Mr. Morrison?" he asked, making no attempt to hide his disinterest.

[I… I think it's best if you saw it for yourself, sir,] Morrison said. [I can't exactly describe it over the phone.]

"Very well," Blake sighed. "This had best be worth my time." With that, he replaced the receiver with a dull _thunk_. He was reluctant to leave his office, as his client may call very soon, but whatever Morrison had found was important enough for him to ignore a direct request. The president strode over to the Fast Travel Station and entered his destination: the Defense Hub. In a flash of blue polygons, Blake vanished.

He materialized within a large, somewhat-tall room. One wall was completely overtaken by a screen, which was split into many different sections, each one depicting something different. Two rows of computers, with each one occupied by a worker, sat towards the wall of screens. A modest refreshment area resided in one corner. Morrison approached Blake from that area, a cup of water in hand. The Hyperion employee wore a yellow shirt underneath his black blazer. A modest beard adorned his round face. "Blake!" he greeted. "Glad you could stop by."

"Just show me what you've found, Morrison," Blake droned, forward as ever.

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine?" Morrison quipped with a smirk. He turned and snapped his fingers a few times. "'Hey, Jenkins! Put your feed on the big screen. Show President Blake what you picked up!" The obese man known as Jenkins pecked at his keyboard, and the screen shifted from many different feeds to a single large one.

What appeared was a live image of an area of distant space. Just the edge of Pandora was visible in the bottom-left corner. Stars twinkled in the background. It seemed like any other snapshot of space. What was out of place, however, was a purple-pink speck of light close to the center of the image. "Enhance it, Jenkins. C'mon," Morrison prodded. The man complied, and the image gradually zoomed in.

The pink light solidified into a blurry object; the observation camera's limitations prevented any further enhancement. The object looked thin and broad, like a flying wing. It was wrapped in an aura of pink light. Blake squinted slightly at the image. "What is that?" he thought aloud.

"That's the thing," Morrison said, turning to face his superior. "We have _no_ _idea_ what this object is. What's _really_ weird is that we only noticed this thing a few minutes before I called you. It doesn't have a scanning signature – even our most advanced tech can't detect this thing. We can only monitor it visually, at least at the moment."

Blake nodded as the man spoke, his hand lightly gripping his chin. Despite only seeing the object for a minute or two, the president of Hyperion had his suspicions on what it could be. He didn't like the possibilities. His brow furrowed slightly as he thought. "Keep an eye on it," he finally said, "and notify me if there are any significant changes." He whirled around to leave, but stopped after taking a few steps. "And Morrison?"

"Yeah, boss?" the man said.

"Keep this little… _observation_… between us," Blake instructed without turning his head. He strode towards the Fast Travel Station, entered the coordinates for his office, and blinked away. He grumbled as he returned to his desk. "_Jack_… What else could you have caused?"

* * *

A/N: Another chapter, more questions (I hope). It seems the Seraphs are on their way home. If you're wanting some violence, you'll get it eventually, I promise. As always, feedback is much appreciated!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The Seraph starship cruised through space on a beeline towards Pandora. The news of the return spread quickly throughout the ship, and the overall opinion of the crew as positive. Hyperius sat in the captain's chair, his legs crossed and his head propped up by his hand. He simply gazed out the viewing port, his eyes set on some unseen point before him.

He feared for the worst. He thought he had accounted for every contingency, every possibility, in his carefully-laid plans. Apparently, he hadn't covered them all.

Voracidous relayed to him that the ship would arrive near Pandora in about three days' time. Hyperius could arrive sooner; he could force the engines to maximum output. That, however, would be a waste of resources, something he had kept careful track of. Not an ounce of fuel was put to waste.

"Hyperius, sir," a Seraph officer said, "Pandora is within range of the long-range detectors."

"Run a preliminary scan," Hyperius mused, his attention piqued. A few taps of a keyboard later, the scan was underway.

After a minute or two, the officer said, "There appears to be another object within orbit, sir." He sounded skeptical.

Hyperius' frown tightened. "Show me." Another few quick pecks.

The image that appeared on the Seraph general's screen was nothing like he had anticipated. The object was placed between Elpis and Pandora, and it was… blocky, almost crude-looking. It was massive as well, almost the size of-

A space station.

"Penetrative scan," Hyperius barked. A moment later, the image morphed into a highly-detailed, three-dimensional schematic of the station. It was extremely intricate and organized. Hyperius was impressed.

"Sure doesn't look Eridian," Voracidous commented from beside the Seraph general. "It's too blocky, too rigid."

"If Eridians did not design it," Hyperius replied, "then who else could have?" Voracidous offered no reply. The Seraph general relayed another order to the officer: "Scan it for Eridian bio-signatures."

Another minute of waiting. "The scan returned nothing," the officer announced. "No Eridian bio-signatures detected."

Hyperius eyed the officer, his brow furrowed. "Are you _absolutely_ certain?"

"T-The instruments do not lie, sir," the officer answered uneasily.

"Instruments _can_ be faulty," the Seraph general countered, keeping strict eye contact. "Make doubly sure they are not." The officer mumbled to himself before beginning a diagnostics check on the equipment. Machines, for all their worth, were simply not as reliable as flesh and blood.

Hyperius sat back in his seat as he let his mind wander. He couldn't even begin to guess at the creators of the odd space station. The various Eridian monarchs eradicated most of the intelligent life in any galaxy the empire reached. The monarchy believed and preached that the Eridians were the epitome of evolution, the ultimate species, the perfect race. They built up dozens of other civilizations, only to tear them down when they questioned the monarchy's rule.

Hyperius was brought up upon those twisted principles. He believed them whole-heartedly until he actually saw the atrocities of the monarchy with his own eyes. Destroying those who challenge your authority, Hyperius believed, only shows weakness and fear, not strength.

That was part of the reason he wanted to give the Queen a taste of her own medicine.

Nonetheless, the space station fascinated Hyperius. He wanted to explore it firsthand, but his instruments told him it would take another week of travel to reach Pandora.

He could, of course, just blink over to it in an instant.

Hyperius stood, the abrupt motion startling Voracidous. "I will investigate this object myself," the Seraph general said. If his officers voiced any objections, he could not hear them, for he was already intently focusing on the station. He vanished with a flash of scarlet light.

* * *

Blake's weariness showed as he materialized beside the Fast Travel station near his office. He massaged the bridge of his nose, sighing as he did. He faintly heard the rapid typing of keys from his aids in the small computer wings nearby.

Noticing Blake's worn-out look, one such aid, his secretary, a charming young woman with long blonde hair, approached him. "You look absolutely ragged," she said, adopting a concerned look as she spoke. "Is there anything I can do to help, Mr. Blake?"

The Hyperion CEO smiled lightly at the woman's attention. "Running a corporation such as this tends to wear men out, Alexis," he admitted. "Some coffee would be lovely."

"We just emptied the pot, but I'll brew some more," Alexis chirped. She went about the process, only faintly hearing her boss' appreciation.

Blake made his way towards his office with slow steps. He had barely slept in days, and the fatigue was hitting him all at once. He pressed his palm up against a reading device, an added security measure, and the twin doors slid open once his handprint was recognized.

He only took a few steps into his office before he froze, his tired eyes wide and locked on a stranger.

It stood gazing out his broad windows at Pandora, a purple hand pressed against the glass. It must have been close to seven feet tall, likely more. Smooth, golden armor adorned the creature's body, adding to its muscly bulk. Silence filled the large room for several seconds before the clicking of the doors closing broke it.

The sound caught the attention of the creature, and it turned itself to glance back at the source. It locked its golden eyes with those of Blake. The Hyperion CEO felt the creature's gaze bore into, as if scrutinizing him. Marks on the creature's muscled arms pulsed lime-green, as did its eyes. Blake felt an itching sensation on the back of his neck, and he rubbed the area with his bony fingers.

After another moment of tense silence, the creature spoke fluently in the Common Language: "Fascinating." It broke its stare to glance around the office. "I would never have thought it possible."

Blake's head cocked to one side as he studied the creature and heard it speak. An alien life form perfectly versed in the Common Language? How utterly bizarre. A more pressing question bothered Blake: "How did you get access to my office?"

The creature smirked, saying, "I did not require 'access', particularly from the likes of you. I go where I please." It lowered its other hand from the glass and walked around Blake's desk. "I must admit, I am rather impressed with this space station. I am more surprised that species such as _yours_ could accomplish such a feat of engineering."

"What makes you say that?" Blake asked, his expression somewhere between irritated and questioning.

"The last I was aware of, you humans were more content on annihilating each other over petty differences than exploring the Universe," the creature answered coldly. "You were willing to start a war over anything – anything at all – if someone profited from the act. Your eagerness for bloodshed is disgusting."

"What makes you so superior to us?" Blake retorted. "What puts you in the position to judge us so harshly?"

The creature hissed, "I have watched your race for longer than any of you could hope to live. I have seen your kind grow and mature. My kind even tried to help nurture you, yet you turned us away. That, however, is not important. Your development does not concern me in the least."

The creature stepped back towards the panel of windows and once again looked through them at the planet below. It said, "When someone steals from you, what is the natural urge that follows?"

The sudden shift in the creature's tone threw Blake off momentarily. "I suppose you would seek revenge," he answered meekly. "You would want to take back what is yours."

"To take back what is yours," the creature echoed Blake's response. A devilish smile played across its lips. "That is exactly what I wanted to hear." It turned back to face Blake, a sinister glint in its eye. "You see, your race has taken something from mine, and I intend to take that exact course of action."

Blake's eyes widened as a revelation struck him. Though he already knew the answer, he dared to ask, "What _are_ you?"

"The rightful owner of Pandora," the creature sneered with a grin. "I am the ruler of the last surviving members of the Eridian race, though we do not address ourselves as such anymore. We have transcended them, _I_ purged them with fire! Now, I seek to rebuild on their ashes, to begin a new glorious age, the age… of the Seraphs!"

Its voice dropped to a sinister snarl, his smile darkening to a scowl. "_You_ and the rest of your insect race stand in my way. However, I will not follow in my predecessor's footsteps and destroy those who oppose me. I seek diplomacy, and I would imagine you do as well. You do not strike me as the bloodthirsty type."

Blake shuddered as the creature spoke. Its method of business – threatening, then seeking negotiations – was eerily similar to those of Handsome Jack. The effectiveness of the method was undeniable; after all, a fearful party will do whatever it takes to save itself from its aggressor.

Blake, however, was used to dealing out the aggression, not receiving it.

His words were quiet, almost inaudible: "What do you require of me?"

A victorious smirk emerged on the creature's face. "As I have already said, I do not want unnecessary bloodshed from either party. Though I have a distaste for your race, exterminating you all would be too drastic. Instead, I want you to move _all_ of the humans on Pandora elsewhere. The farther away, the better."

Blake gawked at the creature's request. "There are millions of people on Pandora," he protested. "Moving them all would take months, and that assumes they all cooperate."

The creature cocked a brow. "You think they will resist?"

"The former president of this company left a rather… _sour_ reputation," Blake explained, "a reputation I'm trying to salvage. I have many enemies on Pandora who would rather see this company dissolved than hear it out. Furthermore, a vast majority of the population is simply not worth saving."

Another dubious look from the creature. "You believe they deserve less than you do? How petty."

"They are _savages_!" Blake snapped. "Filthy, mindless, murderous bandits!" He mentally winced at his own words as he calmed himself. "I will gladly help the _sane_ people on Pandora, but I want nothing to do with the bandits."

The creature chuckled, a snide grin on its lips. "Your kind has not changed at all." The grin quickly faded back to the creature's steely mask. "If you refuse to help them, then you will destroy them. The blood will be on your hands, not on mine."

"Fine," Blake sighed in defeat. He massaged the bridge of his nose. "Is that all?"

"I believe so," the creature mused. It faced the panel of windows once more, its arms behind its back. "You have seven days."

Blake froze. "I have _what?!_" He tried to find the creature, but it was gone. The only evidence that it was even there was a fading red silhouette. It had just… _vanished._

The Hyperion CEO heaved a sigh, shaking his head. "Just _what_ is going on?"

He faintly heard the doors to his office slide open, as well as the clack of heels on the polished floor. "Sorry for the wait, Mr. Blake!" the cheery voice of Alexis rang out. "I just had to run down to-" The secretary noticed Blake's odd posture and body language. "Sir, is everything alright?"

Blake turned around slowly, the familiarity of the voice calming him slightly. He saw the young woman's worried face and adopted a thin smile. "Of course, Alexis," He accepted the mug of steaming coffee from her hands. "There's nothing to worry about."

* * *

A/N: Surprise, surprise, I'm not actually dead. School ending, as well as the chaos that is high school graduation, left me mentally drained (not to mention my general lack of motivation). For the moment, though, I'm back. Kind of a short chapter this time, mainly for the above reasons, but I still think it's decent. As always, feedback is much appreciated. It really does help.


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